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Today's Headlines: February 11, 2016 
 
Zika Virus
 
Zika Virus Associated with Microcephaly (New England Journal of Medicine) Recent reports from the Ministry of Health of Brazil suggest that cases of microcephaly have increased by a factor of approximately 20 among newborns in the northeast region of the country, which indicates a possible association between ZIKV infection in pregnancy and fetal malformations. Go to article

See Also: Zika Virus and Microcephaly (New England Journal of Medicine) Zika virus has been sweeping through South and Central America, with more than a million suspected cases during the past few months, along with a substantial increase in reporting of infants born with microcephaly. Go to article

Notes from the Field: Evidence of Zika Virus Infection in Brain and Placental Tissues from Two Congenitally Infected Newborns and Two Fetal Losses-- Brazil, 2015 (MMWR) Since November 2015, CDC has been developing assays for Zika virus testing in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples. Go to article

Abortion Politics Threatens to Derail Zika Funding in Congress (STAT) By linking abortion politics to the Zika virus, Representatives Jeff Duncan of South Carolina and Christopher Smith of New Jersey raised a prospect that worries public health advocates: that President Barack Obama's request for $1.8 billion in emergency funds to fight the virus could get derailed by battles over whether the money could be used for abortions. Go to article

Zika Virus and Microcephaly: Why Is This Situation a PHEIC? (Lancet) When the Director-General of WHO declared, on Feb 1, 2016, that recently reported clusters of microcephaly and other neurological disorders are a Public Health Emergency of International Concern it was on the advice of an Emergency Committee of the IHR and of other experts whom she had previously consulted. Go to article

Global Scientific Community Commits to Sharing Data on Zika (Wellcome) Leading global health bodies including academic journals, NGOs, research funders and institutes, have committed to sharing data and results relevant to the current Zika crisis and future public health emergencies as rapidly and openly as possible. Go to article

Women in the Context of Microcephaly and Zika Virus Disease (WHO) The risk of babies born with microcephaly has raised understandable concerns among women including those who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. Go to article

State of Knowledge on Zika Virus for an Adequate Laboratory Response (H5N1) The latest posting, State of knowledge on Zika virus for an adequate laboratory response, a 29-page PDF, comes from some European experts including Dr. Marion Koopmans. Go to article

See Also: State of Knowledge on Zika Virus for an Adequate Laboratory Response (WHO) This paper was submitted to the Bulletin of the World Health Organization and was posted to the Zika open site, according to the protocol for public health emergencies for international concern as described in Christopher Dye et al. Go to article

Zika: The Origin and Spread of a Mosquito-borne Virus (WHO) In February 2016, as infection moved rapidly through the range occupied by Aedes mosquitos in the Americas, WHO declared that Zika infection associated with microcephaly and other neurological disorders constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Go to article

Burwell Says No Zika Virus Cases Passed by Mosquitoes in Continental US (Reuters) In testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee about her department's budget request, Burwell said cases of the virus had occurred in travelers returning to the US, and that there had been one case of sexual transmission in Dallas. Go to article

Can We Outrun Zika? Walking This Street in Columbia and You'll See How Tough It Is (STAT ) A stroll down 2 blocks of Avenida le here shows just how hard it will be for the world to catch up to the Zika virus. Go to article

How Will Zika Spread? Look at Chikungunya, CDC Head Says (NBC News) If you want to know how quickly the Zika virus will spread, just look at what happened in Puerto Rico with a related virus, chikungunya, the head of the CDC said Wednesday. Go to article

How to Make a Zika Virus Vaccine, in 4 Not-So-Easy Steps (VOX) Developing a new vaccine can be tricky. Sometimes a vaccine that works in animals shows no effect in humans. Sometimes a vaccine that appears safe in initial trials can produce unforeseen side effects later on. Go to article

These Scientists Saw Zika Coming. Now They're Fighting Back (Wired) "Do you want to see Zika?" Robert Tesh asked the question not 10 minutes after I stepped into his office. For Tesh, Zika has long been one of his "orphan viruses," of only fleeting interest even to the people who make the study of mosquito-borne illnesses their specialty. Go to article

Ryan: House Will Take Bipartisan Action on Zika Funding (The Hill) Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Thursday that he expects bipartisan action to approve funds to fight the Zika virus. "We do anticipate some kind of bipartisan action on this, because this is something we want to get ahead of," Ryan said at a press conference. Go to article

Uganda Discovered the Zika Virus. And the Solution for It. (Foreign Policy - registration required) UVRI scientists first discovered Zika in the blood of a rhesus monkey back in 1947. And while Uganda has never had an outbreak of the virus, the country's unique approach to monitoring the spread of similar diseases could hold the key to stopping future epidemics in their tracks. Go to article


Biological Agents & Infectious Diseases

Abrupt Decline in Tuberculosis Among Foreign-born Persons in the United States (PLOS) We investigated the relative influence of 3 factors on the decline: 1) changes in the size of the foreign-born population through immigration and emigration, 2) changes in distribution of country of origin among foreign-born persons, and 3) changes in the TB case rates among foreign-born subpopulations. Go to article

Monkeypox Outbreak: Dozens of Cases Reported in Bas-Uele District, DRC (Outbreak News Today) Health officials in Bas-Uele District, Orientale Province of northern Democratic Republic of the Congo are reporting a monkeypox outbreak, which has affected more than 50 and killed 2, according to a Radio Okapi report today. Go to article

NEJM: Probable Hospital Cluster of H7N9 - China, 2015 (Avian Flu Diary) We report here a hospital cluster of H7N9 infections that took place from January to February 2015. This study was approved by the ethics committee at Shantou University Medical College. Go to article

The Global Burden of Dengue: An Analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (Lancet) Dengue is the most common arbovirus infection globally, with transmission occurring in at least 128 countries and almost 4 billion people at risk. The number of dengue cases reported to WHO has increased steadily from an average of less than a thousand cases per year globally in the 1950s to more than 3 million cases in 2013. Go to article


Domestic Preparedness & Response

Lead Contamination in Flint--An Abject Failure to Protect Public Health (New England Journal of Medicine) In 2014, solely as a cost-saving measure, the city began taking its water from the Flint River rather than Lake Huron. The corrosion-control treatments required by the EPA's Lead and Copper Rule1 were, for some reason, discontinued. Go to article


Global Health Security

ECDC EFSA Report: Antimicrobial Resistance on the Rise in the EU (Avian Flu Diary) While pandemics and outbreaks of novel diseases like avian flu, MERS, and Zika make the immediate headlines, in terms of long term threats, there is little that can match the potential harm from the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria around the globe. Go to article

UNICEF and WHO Help Fight Lassa Fever Outbreak in Benin (UNICEF) Alarmed by an outbreak of deadly Lassa Fever, UNICEF and WHO officials in Benin are scaling up an emergency response to help prevent further spread of the disease. Go to article


Government Affairs & National Security

Biosurveillance: Ongoing Challenges and Future Considerations for DHS Biosurveillance Efforts (GAO) GAO has published a series of reports on biosurveillance efforts spanning more than a decade. This statement describes progress and challenges GAO has reported in DHS's implementation of NBIC and BioWatch and considerations for the future of biosurveillance efforts at DHS. Go to article


Medicine & Public Health

As Antibiotics Fail, We Need More Vaccines (National Geographic) The global problem of antibiotic misuse that allows bacteria to become resistant can be solved in part by more use--not of antibiotics, but of vaccines and other compounds, which could reduce the occurrence of diseases that antibiotics are otherwise used to treat. Go to article

See Also: Vaccines and Alternative Approaches: Reducing our Dependence on Antimicrobials (Review on Antimicrobial Resistance) In this latest paper published by the independent Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, we consider the impact and the potential of vaccines and other alternative approaches to tackling infection and drug resistance. Go to article


Science & Technology

Harvard Poll: Americans Say No to 'Designer Babies' (STAT) Most Americans oppose using powerful new technology to alter the genes of unborn babies, according to a new poll--even to prevent serious inherited diseases. Go to article
 
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